SO! Here I am with another chapter! =D Yay~! I really like this one… XDD

WARNING: Everyone's out of character, at one point or another… XDDD

Also, I have two things to say:

1: DON'T JUDGE ME. (You'll see why I say that later… XDD I'm so bad)

2: I love blood and vampires… so don't kill me, thanks! =)

Marik fiddled with the golden ring on his left finger and bit his lip absently while staring up at a building. Nervous sweat was trickling down his forehead and back – he couldn't believe that they were actually doing this today…

He turned to his left, where Bakura was. The white-haired boy smiled at him and said, "Are you ready?"

Marik swallowed. "Are you sure you want to do this today…?" he asked, stalling.

Bakura chuckled. "Of course," he responded, "I'm the one who wanted to do it today, remember?"

"Yeah… but…"

Bakura put his arm around Marik's shoulders in an attempt to calm him. "You'll do fine," he assured, "just tell your dad that you're getting married… to a boy."

Marik shoved Bakura's arm off of him. "Yes, 'cause that'll go over so well."

Bakura laughed before saying, "So I was thinking about the wedding –"

Marik groaned. Bakura always wanted to talk about the blasted wedding, "What food should we eat?" "Should we wear black tuxedos or white ones? Or should one wear black and the other white?" "Who should we invite?" "Where do you want it to be held?" It was seriously starting to piss Marik off since he didn't want a big, fancy wedding… He was surprised Bakura wanted one though. "Why do you want a big wedding again?" Marik asked for about the millionth time since the proposal.

"You only get married once right?" Bakura replied before smirking, "Plus, I want a chance to embarrass the living hell out of you."

Marik stuck his tongue out at his fiancé, realizing for the hundredth time that he really loved that word: fiancé. "So what have you been thinking about the wedding for this time?" Marik asked irritably.

"Well," Bakura began, obviously getting ready to explain a lot of things, "the main issue I see is the food… I mean, you're a vegetarian and I am most definitely a carnivore, so that's a big issue. So, I was thinking we should get steak and fish."

"Isn't getting both expensive?" Marik asked. That's what he's always heard anyways, thanks to TV shows and whatnot.

"It doesn't have to be expensive food, it really just depends on the seasoning anyways, and Ryou could probably get his restaurant to cater for us now that I think about it…"

Marik's eyes widened. "Why didn't we think of that sooner? Ryou was probably already planning to make his own food for his wedding…"

"There's one problem…" Bakura said, his face taking on an almost depressed look to it, "I'm not sure if that restaurant is homophobic or not…"

"… Damn it… Let's go ask him right now," Marik said, seeing the perfect opportunity to get away from the house they had been standing in front of.

His escape was ruined when Bakura put his hand on his shoulder and stopped him. "Oh no," he said, glaring, "you are telling your dad today that you're gay and getting married to me. Do you have any idea how it makes me feel to know that my fiancé doesn't even want to tell his own father that he's getting married?"

Marik stared at him with an un-amused expression on his face. "Bakura," he said, "it doesn't make you feel anything…"

"While that's true, you still need to confront your father! Now go."

"WAIT!" both boys heard someone else call. They turned to see Melvin bounding toward them with a wicked smile on his face. "Is today the day?" he asked excitedly, "Is today the day we get to beat the living hell out of dad and possibly kill him?"

Melvin

I stared at them both with a wicked grin on my face. Finally! I get to see my little bro stand up to dad! I'm so proud of him right now… I'm so proud, in fact, that I trap him in a headlock and start ruffling his hair. "I didn't think you'd ever have the guts to Rika-chan~!"

Bakura started to laugh as Marik escaped my headlock and glared at me with a light, pink blush in his cheeks. "R-Rika-chan?-!" Bakura questioned between laughter, "Wh-why didn't I think of that?-!"

Marik glared at him. "I swear if you call me that I will –"

Bakura just kissed Marik to shut him up, and I almost felt like cheering him on. I was all for Rika and 'Kura getting together ever since Ryou told me about him. Honestly, my first thought when I met him? "He would be perfect for Marik!"

I have to cover my mouth to silence my laughter when I see that Marik's kissing him back. I also have to stop myself from saying: "Get a room!" but after a few minutes I break them apart and say, "Weren't we here to do something besides make out? I feel a little left out you know…"

Bakura just glared at me, probably pissed off that I interrupted his make-out session with his soon-to-be-husband. Marik's face was really red though, and I wish I had a camera so I could remember that forever. It was almost as cute as Ryou-chan's blushing face~! "Why are you here anyway?" Bakura asked irritably. He still doesn't like me that much… though I have no idea why. I mean, just because I was insane and wanted to see the world burn in beautiful, enchanting, red flames is no excuse to hate me… especially since I'm getting married to his brother for crying out loud!

"I'm here to help my little brother beat up the bastard!" I exclaimed to him.

Bakura rolled his eyes. "We don't need you, we can take care of this ourselves."

"But I want to see dad put in his place!" I said angrily, "I want to see him groveling on the floor, begging for mercy, feeling the pain that he's inflicted on us for so long," my face turns into a hideous grin as I see the familiar sight of flames in my peripheral vision. "I want to see him burn…" I said, my voice low and serious, "I want to see the flames lick at him, I want him to pay for his sins in a fiery inferno –"

The flames disappear from my peripheral vision as I feel someone slap me. I put my hand up to my face and crease my eyebrows at my brother and his partner. It was obvious Bakura was the one that slapped me – Marik was used to me zoning out to "psycho-land" as Ryou liked to call it, and knew that the only time he should snap me out of it was when I started getting violent or started searching for a weapon. Whereas Bakura had this mixed look of anger and a touch of fear on his face. "Shut the hell up Melvin! And to think I'm letting someone who wants to kill everyone live with my brother…!"

"Speaking of which," Marik asked, "where is Ryou? I thought you and him were spending all week together?"

I smiled. That was true, we had wanted to spend some alone time together without any distractions. Mostly to plan the wedding, but also for… something else. And no, it's not what you're thinking. Ryou wants to wait till he thinks our relationship can "handle it." Ironic, don't you think, that he says we should be ready on our honeymoon? And let me tell you that it is getting harder and harder these days to listen to him, especially since he's quite the… performer… I'm not explaining more than that. I wonder what Bakura would say if he knew Ryou wasn't quite as sweet and innocent as everyone has him pegged for… everyone except me that is. "Well you see," I began, "we were planning the wedding and he had to step out for a while, so I was thinking about decorations and stuff you know? And when he came back he told me I couldn't help plan the wedding anymore because apparently us entering under arches of fire wasn't a good idea…"

Bakura put his hand up to cover his face. "Why oh why oh why does my brother love someone like you? Why can't he love someone more like… like…"

"Marik?" I finished for him, "Because you'd hate that."

Bakura glared. "I'd rather he be single!"

I held my hands up to where my heart was and pretended like that comment hurt. "Oh! So you'd rather your brother be miserable and alone than happy and with someone?"

"If that someone is you – yes."

"Guys!" Marik broke in, "Enough of this stupid –"

"Melvin!" I hear my angel's voice call out from behind me. A huge smile comes onto my face and I turn around, almost having to stop myself from getting a nosebleed in the next second. Ryou was wearing this really, really tight, blue, muscle-shirt that had straps instead of sleeves and a low neck… not to mention short, white shorts.

"R-Ryou…" I said, surprised that he was walking around like that. Of course, when I stopped paying attention to what he was wearing (which was freaking difficult I tell you…) I realized that he was jogging, so his clothing choice wasn't actually that weird.

He smiled and put his hands out in front of him, obviously getting ready to hug me. I smiled and held out my arms just as he ran and jumped into my arms. We held each other close, and then he wrapped his legs around my waist to support him while he kissed me and wrapped his arms around my neck.

I have no idea what caused Ryou to show such a public display, but do you think I really care?

Sadly, he kept the kiss chaste and then got down before smiling like nothing happened at his brother and Marik. "Hello Bakura! Marik! What are you doing here?"

I had to resist the urge to burst out laughing yet again as I saw 'Kura's eye twitching angrily. Damn, he really doesn't like me! "Ryou," he said, his voice getting into that overprotective tone I seem to always hear when me and Ryou are together, "what are you wearing…?"

Ryou looked at his brother with a questioning look on his face. "What do you mean? I'm wearing jogging clothes…" he said, trying to think of what his brother was hinting at.

Bakura sighed. "Never mind… Hey, do you think your restaurant would be able to cater for our wedding?"

"Oh yeah! I was gonna talk to you about that!" Ryou said excitedly, "I've been thinking, we could have a double wedding!"

Everyone was silent, including me.

"A… double wedding?" Marik asked like he'd never heard the concept before.

"Yeah!" Ryou said, his face adorable… damn I fell hard, didn't I? "Think about it, both of the proposals were on the same day, so wouldn't it make sense to have the weddings on the same day as well?"

"Yeah but…" Bakura said, "… I wanted to be your best man…"

Ryou giggled. That's right, giggled… do I even need to explain how cute that is?-! I freaking love my little Ryou-chan~! "Aw, 'Kura, you're already my best man."

I growl possessively as I snake one arm around his slim waist and press him against me. "Hey, I thought I was your man."

Ryou rolled his eyes before leaning his head back and kissing my lower jaw bone. "You're my man, Bakura's my best man."

I smiled at Ryou sweetly, but couldn't help but smirk when I saw Bakura glaring at us. Geez, if he wasn't getting married to my brother I'd probably call him a homophobe right now, 'cause that's exactly what he looked like!

"So what are you doing here?" Ryou asked again, making no moves to escape from my hold. In fact, he actually snuggled in closer, but did it in a way so that Bakura wouldn't notice. He knew that Bakura didn't like me that much, and especially not when we were together, but he still tried to make us get along, and he usually tried to cut down on the physical contact around him too, but he must not care today for some reason…

"We're talking to my dad today," Marik explained sourly.

I could feel Ryou tense up, and I tightened my hold comfortingly around him. "Really…" he said, "well, good luck with that…"

Bakura raised an eyebrow at him. "What's wrong Ryou?" he asked. Damn it, stupid twin connection! Bakura knew something was up.

Ryou tilted his head back to look at me, so I looked down at him, and was it really my fault that his shirt hung so loosely that I could see his perfect chest clearly? No, of course it's not my fault… it's the stupid shirt's fault… God bless shirt companies. Anyways, his face had a worried look on it, and I could tell he was asking me, "Should we tell them?" even without speaking. I shrugged in response, and he sighed, deciding to get out of our embrace then. He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly before saying, "Me and Melvin visited Mr. Ishtar one day…"

Both Marik and Bakura's eyes widened at the same time. "WHAT?-!" they both exclaimed.

"Why didn't you tell me?-!" Bakura demanded to know.

"Did he do anything?" Marik wanted to know, "What happened?-!"

Ryou sighed. He looked at me again, and I offered a weak smile and another shrug. Honestly, it was up to him whether or not he told them what happened.

I remembered that day oh so well… though my memory might be horrible for almost everything else.

Ryou and I were walking down the street to my dad's house. He had been insisting for a long time now that we should go see him. After all, we had been dating for over a year now and his whole family knew about us, so he wanted my whole family to know too.

"Ryou," I try to warn him yet again, "we don't have to do this –"

"Of course we do!" Ryou almost yelled at me, "How sad is it that your father doesn't know what his son's up to?"

I stopped walking, and he stopped too to look back at me. "He doesn't consider me his son," I said, my voice serious, but other than that there was no emotion in my words.

Ryou actually shivered, just a little bit, from my cold tone. "Well, he said that so long ago, I'm sure he misses you! And I'm sure he'll be happy to hear his son's happy."

"Ryou," I said, this time my voice pleading, "you don't understand my dad…" The truth was, I just don't want Ryou to meet dad… I just know something bad's gonna happen… I just know it.

Ryou sighed and hugged me. "It'll be fine, what's the worst he can do?"

"Kill us both," I said coldly.

Ryou waved that thought away with his hand. "Oh I'm sure he's not that bad, you do tend to exaggerate Vinny."

I smiled at the nick-name Ryou called me. He also called me "Melvy" and "Mel" sometimes, but Vinny was his favorite. Though he did like to switch off a lot too… I just feel so happy every time he calls me one of those. But my smile was gone in the next second with the thought of seeing my dad for the first time in over ten years. "Ryou, he hurt us. He caused us to bleed before," I brought my head down so that he couldn't see my face, "I don't want that to happen to you…"

Ryou brought my chin up and kissed me on the lips. He gently licked my bottom lip before pulling back and saying, "That's in the past Mel… I'm sure he's gotten much better," he stroked my cheek, "just like you…"

I grabbed his hand and brought it to my lips for a gentle kiss, then I put his hand on my heart. "Ryou," I said, my voice getting serious again, "I've told you before, but you don't seem to listen… even though it may seem like I've gotten better, I could go back to how I was at anytime, and when that happens I need you to just get away from me – don't try to calm me down, okay Ryou? And I know you'll try to, so I need you to promise me that you won't try to get me back to normal."

"But –"

"Because I was really messed up Ryou," I said. I saw his voice go into that half-pouting, half-uncomfortable look he always got when we talked about how insane I was. "You know that… you remember –"

He kissed me roughly there to shut me up. When he separated he said, "It's okay! You weren't in your right mind then, you need to stop beating yourself up about that already."

"But…" I started. I closed my eyes, remembering the one and only time when Ryou looked at me with fear on his face… true, undiluted fear, the kind of fear I was used to seeing on my old victims… not my boyfriend, not my snowflake, not my little Ry-ry…

But you know, that's the look he should have around me.

I'm not really meant to be with anyone… I'm mentally insane, I've been that way ever since I can remember… I'm unstable, I'm violent, and I'm just… psychotic. When I was younger, I'd set fire to trees and other small things to entertain myself… I found flames to just be so, beautiful. The graceful way they lapped at everything; the crisp, crackling noise it made; the beautiful, bright sparks; and the proud sight of destruction. Fire is so powerful, it can take down an entire building and kill hundreds, yet it can also be so fragile, and the smallest wind or water droplet could knock it out…

I much preferred the powerful side of fire.

And that's what had scared Ryou…

I can still hear his voice, calling desperately, trying to reach the real me, trying to get me back to normal. "M-Melvin…" his quiet, pitiful voice had said, "M-Melvin… please, snap out of it…"But what was even worse than his poor, weak voice leaving a permanent scar in my brain, what was worse than hearing that small voice echo around in my head and tormenting me in the middle of the night, what was worse than that was the memory that, in my psychotic delusions, I had actually… enjoyed the look of pure terror on my precious little kitten's face… I had enjoyed how much he feared me, I had enjoyed how pathetic his voice had sounded, I had enjoyed the fact that he was completely at my mercy… the only thing that snapped me out of it was the single teardrop that fell from his wide, sparkling eyes and landed on my hand.

Like I said, even a small droplet of water can extinguish a flame…

That had put a damper on our relationship. He couldn't look me in the eye after that, and when he ran out of the room… I hauled myself there. I didn't leave, I didn't eat, I didn't sleep, I didn't do anything for a whole week. I just lay in my room, hating myself for what I had done to Ryou. I had been sure that he hated me, that he'd never want to see me again, I had been sure that the best thing that had ever happened to me had just walked out of my life forever, leaving me lifeless once more… leaving the psychosis to stretch over every part of me and leave me hollow, a hollowness that, in my insanity, I felt only destruction and death could fill. Leaving me to go mad, even madder than I had been before…

But I think Ryou might be masochistic or something, because he came back to me after a week. He hugged me, told me that he forgave me, told me that we could start over… or just forget about it.

I felt overjoyed when he said he forgave me. I think that was the only time I cried…

But I knew I didn't deserve that. I had almost… almost… hurt Ryou, maybe even worse than that… I told him that he'd be better off without me, that he should find someone better for him…

But he wouldn't listen. He kept shaking his head and said, "I don't care what your mental problems are, all that matters is that you're Melvin Ishtar and I love you. I'll help you through it, that's what boyfriends are for anyways, right?"

I didn't understand why he loved me so much… I still don't understand it! I've probably caused this little angel so much fear and pain over the years, and yet he forgives me and tries to help me… And he has helped me a lot, I'm much better now than I was when we first met, but I still have these spasms where I remember what controlling the flames was like, where I remember how good it made me feel after destroying something, anything…

I imagine that's how my father felt every time he hurt one of his children.

"Ryou…" I had told him, snapping myself out of my horrible memories, "I'm sorry…"

"Stop apologizing!" Ryou complained, "That's my job."

I laughed. He did say sorry an awful lot… sometimes even when it was clearly my fault. He says he 'caused me to act that way' or something… I think he just wanted to make me feel better.

He hugged me again and said, "I want to meet your dad, at least once, to see what he's like for myself?"

I held him closely to me, protectively. "I can tell you all about what he's like Ryou, you don't need to see him."

"But I want to! Come on, you didn't want to meet my parents either and they loved you!"

"That was because you didn't tell them about my mental issues."

"That's because they're becoming less of an issue every day. Now come on! We're meeting your dad and that's final."

I sighed. When Ryou made up his mind, there was no changing it… he was just as stubborn as his brother, if not more so. And though I find that a very attractive trait, I also find it annoying and inconvenient sometimes, like now.

We kept walking and eventually made it to my dad's house. I stared at the horrid, white building with loathe clear on my face. It looked like most of the shingles needed to be replaced, and the house desperately needed some new paint… I bet the inside was just as shoddy and disgusting.

Ryou turned and smiled at me. "Everything will be fine. Come on, let's go see him now."

At the time I just nodded, but looking back I wish Ryou would stop making promises he can't keep.

We walked up to the door and I demanded I stand in front of Ryou when the door opens. So it was with Ryou behind me that I knocked on the door, wishing that my dad was out right now.

Sadly, that was not the case.

My dad opened the door. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was unkempt, and he was paler and sicker than I last remember him being. He took one look at me and scowled. "What do you want ya ungrateful little bastard."

I glared at him and grinded my teeth. "Nice to see you too dad," I said sarcastically through my teeth, my voice taking on the tone that indicated I was slipping back into "psycho-land."Ryou put his hand on my shoulder at that time to try and calm me.

Unfortunately, that was when my dad saw him. "Who the hell is that?" he asked.

I brought Ryou to my side and put my arm around his shoulders. "This is my boyfriend."

Dad stared at me, his eyes cold. He snarled at me, "How dare you bring that to my house. And you are not my son anymore, remember?"

I snuck a quick glance at Ryou. His expression was sad, and his eyebrows were scrunched, which meant he didn't understand why my dad was acting like this. I looked back at my dad and said, " "That" has a name, and his name is Ryou. He wanted to see you, you should feel honored."

My dad pushed me, causing me and Ryou to take a step backwards since I was hanging onto him. "I'd feel honored if that thing was a girl! Get out of my sight, you disgust me."

I glared at him, and I could feel fire appear at my peripheral vision again. I surrendered my hold on Ryou as I rushed forward and pushed my dad. I kept pushing him until his back came against the wall inside his disgusting house. The place was filthy, probably never cleaned it since Marik left. I put my hands to his throat and started choking him, my face turning to a wild grin as I realized that I was stronger than him, and that this was so easy… it'd be so easy to just kill him right now. No more trouble, no more pain, just relief… "Don't you ever call him a 'thing' again. He's brought me more happiness than you ever did or ever will. He disgusts you? I'm sure you disgust him."

But then Ryou came up and wrapped his arms around my waist and tried to pull me back. "Melvin!" he said, his voice in a panic. This was probably not how he had expected this to go. "Stop! Killing is not the answer!"

I turned to him, the fire not yet gone from my eyes. "But Ryou," I said, my voice psychotic as I tightened my grip on the bastard's neck, "you've seen him, you've seen how horrible he is, surely I would be doing the world a favor by killing him?"

Ryou stepped back and shook his head, tears brimming his eyes. "It's not our place to decide who should die or not. What if someone decided they'd be doing the world a favor by killing you? I wouldn't… I couldn't handle that Vinny, so please… stop…" he looked down, and a single tear fell from his eye, vanquishing the flames from me, just like last time.

I released my hold on the bastard, watching with delight as he crumpled to the floor and started gasping for breath.

But then something horrible happened.

Ryou, being the wonderful, caring, forgiving person that he was, kneeled down next to my father and asked, "I'm sorry for Melvin, are you okay?"

My dad glared at Ryou, scaring him just a little, and then pushed him onto his back. "Get the hell away from me you faggot!"

His words were like gasoline to my flames, and I could see the red returning. Then he punched Ryou in the chest, hard, and the sickening, deafening scream that came out of my angel's mouth was like the spark that started a roaring, uncontrollable fire.

I grabbed that bastard's collar and picked him up, giving him the coldest stare that I could. "Listen dad," I said, my voice hard, unforgiving, merciless, "while we might be "faggots," at least we're happy. And you know something? Ryou's a better person than you'll ever be. I don't know a single person who would ask if you were okay after the way you've been acting." I slammed him against the wall, brightening at the sight of his pathetic figure crumpling in a heap on the floor. "You're worthless, pathetic, weak, you talk all tough but that's 'cause that's all you have. You're mean because you don't know any other way, you've never known another way since mom died…

"But guess what? Ryou's mother and sister both died in a car crash, and he's probably the nicest person I've ever met. So you know what? I don't care if you don't like us. For the first time in my life I'm happy, truly happy. Not that fake happy that I was when I caused destruction… And I'm not going to let you ruin that." I turned to Ryou who had sat up and said, "Let's go Ryou." He just nodded, cradling his stomach, and stood up. We started walking out of there, and I couldn't have been more eager.

Unfortunately, my eagerness cost me.

I turned around as I heard a sharp yell come from behind me. My eyes widened as I saw my dad holding Ryou in a headlock, a dull, Swiss army knife held to his throat.

The sight froze me. No… don't hurt Ryou, don't hurt him…! I felt panic and fear grip my heart as I thought of a world without my little ray of sunshine there to brighten my day. I felt anger as I continued to look at my horrible excuse for a father. But I knew that if I moved that Ryou would be gone from my life forever… so I stayed still.

"I'm weak?" the bastard yelled, "look at your little boyfriend. He's weak! He won't even put up a fight! I'm disappointed Melvin, I thought you'd get someone more brave, someone stronger." He pressed the knife closer to Ryou's neck, and I saw red liquid leak from his dainty neck…

In the next second, somehow I had pinned my dad to the floor and held the knife pressed to his neck. "How dare you…" I said, my voice the most dangerous I've ever heard it. The flames weren't in my peripheral vision anymore, they threatened to take over my entire eyesight. I felt furious, angrier than I had ever felt before, I was so mad that I couldn't even finish my sentence. How dare he hurt my Ryou-chan! How dare he! I pressed the knife closer to my dad's neck, and I felt elated at the sight of the same red liquid trickling down his neck and onto the floor.

But it wasn't enough. Not for what he did to Ryou.

I brought the knife up above my head, getting ready to strike and cease my dad's life forever, but then my little angel stopped me.

He grabbed my arm, screaming, "NO!"

I looked up at him, utterly confused. My dad hurt him, doesn't he want to see him pay? Doesn't he want this as much as I do? "Ryou…" I said, my vision getting just a little more clear as I stared at him, "He hurt you…"

"What, this?" Ryou asked as he wiped the blood from his neck like it was nothing, "It's no big deal, it doesn't even hurt much. It's nothing to kill over."

"But," I started, but Ryou silenced my by putting both of his hands on my shoulders.

"Let's just go, okay sweetie?" he said softly.

I stared at him, the flames slowly disappearing from my vision, but just before they disappeared they enflamed again as I said, "I don't care if it doesn't hurt you much Ryou, it hurts me a lot to see you with any sort of pain! It hurts me to see what my father did to you, this is exactly why I didn't want to come!"

"It's really no big deal Melvin –"

"Bull shit!" I yelled, turning back to my dad. He looked so pathetic right now, his eyes looking at the knife in my hand with fear. "He deserves to die!" I yelled, my grip on the knife increasing as I brought it even further back, getting ready to plunge it deep into my father's chest.

I hear the knife clatter to the floor as I feel Ryou's soft lips press against mine. "Stop," he murmurs in between the kiss, "this isn't you… this isn't the you I know."

I push him back slightly and look him in the eyes. "Yes it is Ryou, you know this me very well… This is me Ryou, it's a part of me, whether you admit it or not."

I saw tears brim his eyes again. "You're better than this Melvin!" he whispered, his lips provocatively close to mine, "You're stronger than this. I know you, and this isn't you… at least, not anymore." He kissed me again, and this time he bit my bottom lip, just like he knows I like, but then he pulled back and looked at me with those round, sad, doe-eyes of his. "Please… let's just go, I'm sorry I made us come."

I stood up and hugged him. "Don't be sorry… I'm the one that should be sorry, I didn't protect you enough… and now you know how awful he is." I glared at my father one last time, who was just staring at us with shock on his face. I scoffed at him and turned, this time pushing Ryou in front of me so that there would be no surprise attacks.

When we got outside, Ryou smiled at me. "I'm proud of you Melvin…"

I raised an eyebrow at him, the flames disappearing rapidly form my vision. "Why? I almost killed him, like, five times. At least."

"Yes, but you didn't," he smiled at me again, and it was then that I noticed that the cut on his neck was still bleeding.

I stared at the crimson liquid, the flames still at my peripheral vision now. "Ryou…" I said, "Your neck is still bleeding."

"Is it?" he asked as he brought his fingers up to his neck and smeared some of the blood on them. He looked at his bloody fingers. "Huh, ah well – Melvin!" he said the last word with his face going red as I started licking the blood from his neck gently with my tongue. "Melvin, what are you doing?-! Stop it!" he demanded.

I moaned with pleasure. "But you're so sweet…" Of course that might just be because I'm insane, and I had loved the taste of blood before then… but still, it was sweet.

"Vinny…" he said warningly, but by the use of my nickname I could tell he was enjoying this, if only slightly. "Y-you're not a vampire…"

I wiggled my eyebrows at him. "If you can be my kitty then I can be your vampire."

His face flushed as he remembered the time he dressed up as a cat for me.

What? I told you he was a performer.

He looked away from me, his face still red. "Th-that was…"

"Wonderful," I whispered before licking the still-flowing blood from his neck.

He let out a pleasured whimper as I bit his neck softly. I felt a shiver go through me, looks like I got him in the mood…

He pushed me away before grabbing my arm and wrapping it around him. He started playing with my fingers before saying, "Well," in a provocative voice I knew well, "I suppose you do deserve a treat…"

I shivered again and smirked. "What kind of treat?"

He tilted his head back with a flirty smile. "Your favorite – chocolate."

… Did he just say chocolate?-! He never wants to do that one! "Really?" I ask him, excited.

He laughs. "Really," he responds before stepping out from my arm and walking ahead. He turns around and puts his hands behind his back and winks at me. "Come on, or don't you want your sweet?"

I walk forward as he walks backwards. "Where are we going?"

"Your house, I love your bed. It's much softer than mine."

I chuckled, and kept following him. I grabbed his arm and was going to pull him in for a kiss, but he put a finger to my mouth and said, "Save your appetite sweetie~. I pro~omise it'll be worth it~!"

I smirked and brought my lips close to his anyway. "I love you Ryou," I told him.

"I know Vinny, I love you too," he said before kissing my cheek and then running ahead. "Can't catch me!" he called back.

I laughed and ran after him. I couldn't wait till my chocolate~!

~!~!~!~

As I came out of my own recollection of meeting my father, Ryou had just finished telling his own tale. Leaving out everything after we left of course, Bakura would go ballistic if he found out about chocolate…

Speaking of which, both boys were staring at Ryou with their mouths agape. Bakura looked at me and said, "You know what Melvin? I agree with you, let's go kill that bastard of a father!"

"I second that motion," Marik agreed.

I smiled. Maybe 'Kura would finally warm up to me! "Great! Let's do it right now!"

Ryou grabbed my arm. "Melvin…" he said, "we've talked about this…"

"Aw come on Ryou," I said, "even your brother wants him dead!"

Ryou shook his head. "I don't care… but if you two are going to talk to him, I don't want to be here, so I'll see you later!" then he started jogging away, and I was torn between jogging after him or staying here and helping 'Kura and Marik beat up my dad…

After staring after Ryou for a few seconds I turned to the two new love-birds and asked a question that's been bugging me for a while, "So which one of you is the girl in this relationship?"

I almost burst into laughter at the twin expressions of shock on their faces. "Wh-what?" they both asked.

"Oh come on," I said, "for every homosexual relationship there's a "girl" and a "boy." Or we could use the terms "seme" or "uke" if you prefer."

They both looked at me like I was crazy, and it was then that I remembered that these two didn't watch anime so they'd have no idea what those two words meant… Damn it, I keep forgetting that most people don't watch anime. "In the yaoi – er, gay world, seme is a term for the person on top, and uke's the one on the bottom," I clarified.

I got to witness the wonderful scene of both their faces flushing bright red as they took in what I said. I laughed. "Don't tell me you two never thought of it!"

Bakura tried to glare at me, but the blush on his face made it less intimidating than he wanted it to be. "No," he said coldly, "we haven't."

"Yeah," Marik agreed, "we aren't going to degrade each other by assigning roles."

I smirked. "Really? 'Cause me and Ryou both agreed that I'm the seme and he's the uke," I chuckled at Bakura's overprotective face, "and he seems to enjoy his role… so I guess your guys' relationship just can't handle it."

Marik glared at me. "Melvin, we're not falling into one of your games, you obviously just want to see us fight. The truth is we're equal."

"Yes," Bakura agreed, but I could tell by his face that he didn't feel quite equal.

I smirked evilly. "Really? You don't think you're better than the other?"

"Of course not!" they argued in unison.

I brought my hand to my mouth. "Really? Marik, why don't you ask Bakura what he thinks?" I suggested nonchalantly.

Bakura gave me death glares and I just gave him a look that said, "Soon you'll be in the doghouse boy."

Bakura

I. Fucking. Hate. Melvin!

Okay, truth is, I have been thinking about the "girl-boy" thing in our relationship, and I just… can't see myself as the "uke" as Melvin put it. But the thing is… I can't see Marik as the "uke" either. I've been meaning to ask him about it, but… it's kind of awkward, you know? Plus, he's already been worried enough about dealing with his father, so I didn't want to give him one more thing he has to think and worry about. And, even if I can't see either of us as the uke, I have to admit… I'd kind of think it's Marik… I mean, he wears purple for god's sake! What man wears purple? And he's really soft…

Crap, now Marik's looking at me… I look back at him, and I can tell he's a little mad that I'm not saying anything.

" 'Kura," he starts, "who do you think is the… uke?" he asks me.

I swallow the saliva in my mouth. "Well," I said, trying to choose my words carefully, "you do look kind of… girlish…" I admitted.

He glared at me. "I look girlish?" he said indignantly, "at least I don't have curves!"

I glare back at him. "What are you talking about? I do not have curves!"

"Oh really?" he challenges, running his hands up and down my sides, "Look at this! You've got the "hour-glass" figure every girl dreams of! You're so skinny I'm surprised you're not anorexic!"

I slap his hands away, my face a little red. "At least I don't wear make-up!"

"I've explained this to you a million times – it's not make-up, it's kohl!"

"And a lot of people wear it in Egypt blah-de-blah-blah-blah, you're not in Egypt anymore Marik! You're in America! And in America, that black stuff around your eyes is eyeliner."

I can tell he's furious now. Let's face it, the guy had always been a little sensitive about the way he looks… but he deserved it for bringing up my figure. Was it really my fault that my body just happened to be shaped like an "hour-glass" as he put it? Stupid anatomy…

"Um, guys?" Melvin interrupted.

At this time we were head to head, so close that our foreheads were almost touching, so we both turned on him. "What?" we asked irritably.

He seemed shocked at how worked up we were. I hate you Melvin… I really, fucking, hate you right now. You're the one who caused this stupid fight you bastard! Don't you dare act surprised!

"Well, there's an easy way to tell which one is the seme and which one's the uke."

I looked at him oddly and Marik asked, "How?"

He smiled wickedly, and I immediately knew that what he was about to say would either cause him to be either extremely mad at him, or cause my face to go extremely red.

Sadly, it was both. He practically purred, "Go at it in bed."

You already know my actions, my face turned redder than a tomato farm and I glared at him with the fury of a thousand suns, but you don't know Marik's reaction. From what I saw, his face was extremely red too, and he was grinding his teeth with fury. "Melvin," he said, "you know my promise –"

Melvin waved his hand in the air. "Marik, I don't know if you realize this or not, but you're getting married. So you might want to get comfortable with the idea of sex."

Marik

My face immediately enflamed. I was completely comfortable with the idea of sex! I just… didn't necessarily… want to focus on it. After all, the key to building a relationship isn't… that, it's communication isn't it? And I think that if there's one thing me and Bakura have down, it's communication… Sure, yelling at each other may not be the best form of it, but it's better than keeping everything to ourselves and letting it build isn't it?

Bakura raised an eyebrow at me, but I could tell he was a little worried. "… Are you comfortable with the idea…?" he asked me quietly, almost as if he was afraid of being turned down, again.

"Of course!" I answered back indignantly, mad that he'd ask the question. Of course I guess it's natural considering everything I've put him through… I sigh, trying to calm down. "Look, can we please talk about this later? Somewhere more private?" I emphasized the last word as I glared at my brother. "And go chase after Ryou already! I know you want to…"

Melvin smiled. "All right, but if you want my two cents I think you two are equal too. Bye~!" he said before running off.

Me and Bakura stared at him, both seething and Bakura said one word. "Jackass."

"Right?" I agreed angrily, "If he thought we were equal why did he ask the question?"

Bakura stared at the ground contemplatively. Then he turned to me with no emotion on his face. "Marik, if you're not ready yet it's okay… I'd just like to know first, I don't want to force you or anything…" his eyes softened, "We can tell each other anything, right?"

I smiled, I never knew Bakura could be so… understanding, I suppose. And he says he's not patient? Liar. "Thanks 'Kura… but I'm ready. Er, I will be anyways…"

Bakura snickered, then he grabbed my left hand. "You already have the ring… doesn't that mean anything?"

I took my hand away from him. "We're not married yet Fluffy."

"But we're engaged," Bakura said with a smirk, "so you're not ready…"

I glared at him. "I think I know when I'm ready!"

"But if you're ready now, then why wait?"

"Because…" I hesitated. Well… we are getting married… I do have a ring… but, I don't know… "It's just more… traditional, I guess."

Bakura thought about this, then shrugged. "Makes sense to me." I could tell he wanted to say more, so I waited. Eventually, he put his hands together and looked off to the side, "So I was thinking about the wedding…"

I groaned, much to his amusement.

He smirked. "And I've decided that I should wear white and you should wear black."

I raised an eyebrow at him, a smile playing at my lips. "Doesn't the bride usually wear white…?" I asked.

A light pink blush appeared on his face, making him look so cute~! "Well… yes," he admitted, his face going redder, "but, just think about it! White would clash with your skin-tone… and my hair's already white, so black would just make it stand out more…"

I chuckled. "And a white dress would accentuate your curves…"

He glared at me, his face just plain red now. He poked me in the ribs, "Look pal, I don't know what sick fantasies you think up, but I am not wearing a freaking white dress!" I just kept laughing as he continued, "Actually, white represents purity, so maybe you should wear white."

"But it would clash with my skin-tone!" I said with mock-fear.

Bakura scowled. "If you don't like the idea, just say so!" he said, but then he mumbled the last part, "And I thought you'd be happy that I'm willing to play the… 'bride' so to speak…"

I smiled at him, "I am, but I mean, you kind of proposed that completely out of the blue."

Bakura burst out laughing, leaving me to wonder what was so funny. "Marik," he said, calming himself down, "I proposed completely out of the blue!"

It took me a few moments before I got it and then started laughing too.

Bakura put a hand to his chin, his signature smirk right above, "You know, considering I'm the one who proposed, maybe you are the girl in this relationship…"

I smacked him behind the head. "You already said you'd wear white, so I say we're equal."

Bakura rubbed the back of his head with a smile. "I agree." He looked at the house we had been standing in front of this entire time. "Anyways, we should really see your dad now…"

I sighed. "Right… lead the way?"

He smiled. "Sure." He walked towards the front door, expecting me to follow. But… fear kept holding me back. What if… what if my dad's drunk or something? He's a violent drunk… What if he thinks Bakura's Ryou, and tries to hurt him again as soon as he opens the door? What if…

I toppled out of my thoughts when I felt someone pulling my arm towards the door. "Stop standing around!" Bakura yelled at me with annoyance, "We've come too far for you to back out now!"

I glared at him. "I'm not 'backing out,' I'm just… hesitating."

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said before knocking on the door.

My heart thumped loudly in my ears. This is it… the moment of truth… My heart stopped when I heard sounds close to the door, and my vision swam as I saw the door open, but suddenly I was being hugged. "Marik!" I heard my dad's voice say happily, "I've missed you! Please, come inside!"

I backed out of his embrace, completely and utterly confused. One look at my dad and my jaw dropped. He was wearing jeans with a white, button-up shirt, and he looked very healthy and clean, unlike Ryou had said he looked the last time they saw him. His eyes didn't hold the familiar sight of alcohol in them like usual, and they actually looked… happy!

"D-dad…?" I asked, certain there must be a mistake – there's no way this person can be my father!

The man posing as my father chuckled. "You look so surprised… not that I can blame you I suppose," it was then that he noticed Bakura, and his face took on one of surprise, "Ah… you are Ryou, correct?"

"Um…" Bakura said. He must have been shocked by my father too, after all I'd told him… "Actually, I'm his twin brother… Bakura."

"Ah," dad said, "could you tell him I'm sorry about how I acted the last time we met? I feel really bad about that…"

"D-dad…" I interrupted, "What…?"

My father sighed, "I suppose we have a lot of catching up to do son…"

Soon, all three of us were inside my dad's house, drinking lemonade. Me and Bakura were sitting on the couch, and my dad was sitting in an easy-chair. The condition of the house astounded me – it looked like almost everything had been refurnished or replaced. The dirty white walls I remembered were now painted over with a soothing light yellow, and the rotting hardwood floor had been replaced with a red, plush carpet. The chairs and other furniture was yellow as well, and everything that was wood was cherry.

My dad was looking at us both curiously. "Are you two together?" he asked.

Bakura and I exchanged a glance. "… Yes…" Bakura said.

" We're… getting married," I finished.

My dad seemed to digest this, and his face turned to this expression that showed he was feeling very awkward and shocked at the moment… but then he smiled weakly. "Well… I hope you two will be very happy together." I couldn't believe m ears when he said that. Seriously, who is this person?-! The father I remembered would've gone ballistic at that statement!

"Dad," I said, "what… happened to you?"

He sighed. "When Melvin and Ryou came to visit me, I was shocked by how much Melvin had changed… he seemed much happier, much more sane, and I just… couldn't understand how this one boy could change him, you know?

"It wouldn't leave me alone. I kept asking myself, "How is Melvin so happy with this boy?" Being the person I was back then couldn't understand it at all, and I kept thinking about the way Ryou looked at my son…" his eyes lost focus, "… he reminded me of your mother...

"I couldn't understand it… Back then, I felt that only a woman could bring a man such happiness that I had seen on Melvin's face, I thought only a woman could cure the loneliness in a man's heart, I couldn't understand it…

"After a while, I started thinking about you." My heart skipped a beat when he said that. "I kept thinking about how you never liked any of the girls I set you up with, and how you always seemed so nervous when I talked about children, and how you never visited… how none of my children visited… and then, a realization hit me.

"I was a horrible father.

"When I realized that… I felt more distraught than ever, especially when I thought about how disappointed your mother would've been… How could I repay my children for all that I'd done? How could I possibly explain how sorry I am to them?

"I was determined to change my ways, to become someone better… someone more accepting. So I took some anger and alcohol management classes, and started to clean up my act, and my house. This place was a real mess a while ago…"

"H-how…" I started, "How long have you been taking these classes?"

"Oh, " he said, suddenly shy, "I'd say about a year or so…"

Me and Bakura exchanged glances, and I could tell we both had come to the same realization.

A year ago was when that night happened.

I felt… weird at that time, mad even. You mean to tell me that my dad was starting to become okay with the idea of having a gay son a year ago? I could've… I could've faced him back then! I could've skipped an entire year of drama and been with 'Kura a lot sooner!-! Damn it! Why didn't I just go see him that day?-!

Fear.

The word rang in my head. Fear… the old pressure and worry was such a foreign concept to me now, after seeing my dad like this. I didn't fear him anymore… now I, respected him. A man who made a complete change in his life like this… that was very respectable. But I still didn't love him. It would take a lot more than "turning his life around," so to speak, to make me love him after all he'd put me through as a child.

Just then, another realization hit me. If he had been bettering himself for a year or so, then why had he still been setting up blind dates for me? I asked him this, and he responded with a sigh. "Well, the truth is Marik, I do still want grandchildren…" he admitted, "I was hoping that maybe you'd find a lady you liked, so I could get my wish…" he smiled weakly at Bakura, "But I see that isn't happening…"

"But…" I said, "You still sounded like your old self on the phone…"

My dad laughed nervously. "Yes, well… I wanted my new self to be a surprise, but only when I was all better… So I kept up my old act, since I knew you'd never visit me and therefore never see me like I am now…" his eyes turned sad, "Marik, I'm… I'm sorry, for all I put you through, for… your back…"

"It's okay," I said quickly, surprising everyone in the room, especially Bakura. "You're changing yourself…" I explained, "I'm happy for you dad."

He smiled, I could tell he was extremely happy that I was forgiving him. I probably wouldn't have forgiven him if I didn't see how… hard he was trying, isn't coming over an addiction hard? Isn't getting over insanity like I thought he had hard? And he was accepting me! That's gotta be hard for someone like him… He was really trying, and he was getting better… Just like Melvin.

I stood up, "I'll be right back, I have to go to the bathroom."

Dad nodded, "All right."

I walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind me, then I pulled out my phone and dialed a number. After a few seconds, it rang, and Ryou's voice came on, "Hey Marik, what's up? Are you done talking with your dad?"

"Um, not quite…" I say, "Listen you have to come over here."

"Why?" Ryou asked, his voice panicked, "Did something happen? Are either of you hurt?"

I laughed. "No, it's nothing like that… just come over here, with Melvin."

"Okay," Ryou said hesitantly, "nothing bad happened?"

I smiled. "Nothing at all, I just really think you should come over."

"… All right, we'll be there in a few minutes."

I smiled. "Good! Bye Ryou."

"Bye Marik," he said before hanging up.

I looked at my phone. Thank goodness I was friends with Ryou, if I had tried getting Melvin over here that conversation would've lasted a lot longer.

I groaned inwardly when my phone started vibrating, the caller ID being "Melvin Idiotic Ishtar." Great, I'm gonna be in here a lot longer than I thought…

Bakura

Once Marik left for the bathroom, I was left alone with Mr. Ishtar, and to say it was awkward between us would be an understatement.

I mean, I had been hearing nothing but bad things about this guy. He beat his children, he kicked Melvin out of the house, he carved into Marik's back (I'm still mad about that), and he was against gay couples…

And now, we find that he's a nice guy, he's horribly sorry for all that he's done, and that he's happy for us?

And think about what he thinks of me for goodness' sakes! I mean, he's been trying to set up his son with a woman for who knows how long, and now a boy comes in and says he's getting married to his son? He probably has absolutely no idea what to think of me either.

Ergo, I had no idea what to say to him…

"So," he started, probably to get rid of the awkward silence between us, "how long have you known Marik?"

"… A pretty long time…" I answered, unsure of what I should tell him.

He seemed to understand I was uncomfortable, as he asked, "Marik's told you a lot of bad things about me I presume?"

I nodded.

He sighed. "Well, I regret to say that they're probably all true… I assume you know about the carvings on his back?"

"… Yes," I said harshly, "and I'm sorry, but I don't forgive you for that."

He nodded in understanding. "I don't expect you to, I didn't expect Marik to either… I thought he'd hate me, but at least he'd see that I'm trying to change…"

"I'm surprised by that too," I said truthfully.

He chuckled. "How long have you and Marik been dating?" he asked curiously.

"Er…" I hesitated. How the hell should I answer that? The truth is we never "officially" dated, we just hung out… should I just say a few years since it'd be weird to say we've never been on a "date?" You know, come to think of it, we should probably go on our first date soon… I'm sure a lot of people are going to be asking for details and such. "A few years," I finally answered.

He stared at me, obviously having something on his mind, but not sure how to say it. "And you…" he said after a while, and I could tell he was uncomfortable, but about what? "And you…" I could see him swallow, "… like him?"

My cheeks turned rosy. "Well… yes, it'd be kind of weird if I didn't seeing as we're getting married…"

Now the poor man seemed even more uncomfortable. "I meant…" he said hesitantly. Beads of sweat were starting to come out of his forehead and he rubbed his hands together nervously, "I meant… physically?"

My face turned beat red. "Um…" THIS IS SO AWKWARD!-!-! "Yes…"

"See, that's the part I have trouble understanding…" he admitted, looking away from me. "And Marik… He, feels the same…?"

If it's possible, I think my face turned even more red. Damn it Marik, why did you have to leave?-! "I-I… think so…" I answered truthfully. I never really asked him… I'd assume so, considering we've made out before, and it'd kind of be hard to do that with someone you weren't attracted to…

Mr. Ishtar leaned back in his chair, his eyes cast upwards at the ceiling. "That's going to take some getting used to…" he said, "Sure, I can support him, but I really don't understand it…"

"It's hard for the older generation to," I told him, my face going back to it's usual, pale, color.

He sighed, putting his hands up to cover his eyes in the next second. "I just don't get how a man can find another man attractive…"

"It's because you've never had those feelings," I tried to explain, "it's okay if you don't get it, just… show Marik that you love and support him and all that stuff…"

Mr. Ishtar laughed. "You're not really an emotional type, are you Bakura?"

"Not really," I said before Marik came back in the room. He seemed annoyed at something… but at what?

He sat down next to me. "So," he asked, "what were you two talking about?"

I think both mine and Mr. Ishtar's faces turned red. "Oh…" I said, trying to be nonchalant, "Nothing really…"

I could tell Marik didn't buy it, and he asked, "Do I want to know?"

"Not really," I responded.

He sighed, but then his dad asked another question that caused everything to go awkward again. "So," his question started out, "which one of you… proposed…?" he asked.

We exchanged expressions. If we said that I proposed, I'm not quite sure how he'd handle it… I mean, he'd think that Marik was the… girl in this relationship, and it already takes some getting used to the fact that your son is gay, and to find out that he's the… less dominant one, we'll say, in the relationship… well, the man might have a heart attack or something. I don't know…

Just as Marik was about to answer, I interrupted with, "Marik did."

Marik looked at me quizzically, but I gave him a look that said, "Just trust me!" so he kept quiet.

The father actually seemed to brighten a little bit at this "truth." "Really?" he asked, "That's… good." It made me wonder what he thought of Marik…

"Yup," I kept up the act, "I was so surprised!" I managed to say convincingly.

He chuckled. "I'm… surprised too, considering all the pressure I put on you…"

Marik laughed nervously. "Yeah, well, Melvin's not the only rebellious one…"

It was silent for a minute, but the weird thing was… it wasn't awkward. It was actually comfortable, but then Mr. Ishtar ruined it when he said, "So when's the wedding?"

Me and Marik exchanged a glance. "We haven't really… decided," I said.

"We're still just trying to plan for it," Marik put in.

"I suggested it should be on the first day of spring," I glared at Marik in this next part, "but Marik doesn't want an unexpected "spring shower" to ruin the day…"

Marik returned the glare. "Well, if Bakura would agree to an inside wedding, then that wouldn't be a problem."

"But having an inside wedding is so boring!" I complained, "Everyone feels trapped in a hot, stuffy, cramped room."

"At least the weather would stay the same! Outside the weather could change in the blink of an eye."

"We'd have tents and things! It's not like we'd be completely out in the open."

Marik shook his head. "I still say the wedding should be in October, fall is so perfect! Not too cold, not too hot, all the beautiful colors –"

"Leaves falling everywhere and landing in the food," I said with sarcasm.

"Again, if we were inside, that wouldn't be a problem!"

I was about to retort, when I noticed Marik's dad trying not to laugh. "What's so funny?" I asked him.

He laughed openly after my question. "You two are just so… funny. Do you always argue like that?" he asked.

"Kind of," we answered in unison.

He laughed again. "I can see I won't have to worry about you two much." Before we could ask him what he meant, he asked, "What have you decided on?"

"Absolutely nothing," I said with discontent, "so far Marik's turned down every one of my ideas!"

"Well, if any of your ideas were actually good…" Marik said quietly.

"Well I don't see you coming up with any ideas!" I yelled at him.

"Every idea I come up with you say is too "boring." "

"Because they are!"

Marik rolled his eyes. "The only thing we have decided on is that I'm wearing black and you're wearing white."

"Oh yeah, one thing, that's quite the accomplishment," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

Marik let out a frustrated noise. "I'm sorry you're not getting your way 'Kura, okay? But you can't just plan this thing yourself!"

"I could if you'd let me," I said.

"Yeah, and you'd make sure it's full of stuff I'd hate –"

"I would not!" I insisted, "I would try to make it an actual enjoyable wedding!"

Marik was about to say something when the doorbell rang. He smiled and stood up to answer it, but it made me wonder who it could be. I could tell Mr. Ishtar was wondering the same thing.

Soon, I heard Melvin's voice say, "This doesn't look like the site of a murder victim…"

"It looks much cleaner than I last remember it," Ryou commented.

I could tell by the expression on Marik's Dad's face that he knew who these people were, but what I didn't understand was the look of panic that was on his face. Maybe he was actually afraid of Melvin as well…? Or maybe he was afraid he wouldn't forgive him…

Either way, Ryou and Melvin walked in, and I could tell both of them were surprised at the sight of Mr. Ishtar (I really need to find out his bloody name soon…)

"Dad?" Melvin asked as if he knew he was wrong but was guessing anyways. Ryou didn't say anything, he just stared at him as if he was frozen, his mouth slightly open.

The father smiled sadly and said, "Hello… son…"

The air was silent once again, and at that time I caught Marik's eyes. I thought they should see the changed him, his eyes said.

I nodded slightly. It was a good idea in theory, I sent back, but right now…

I know, his disappointed eyes said.

"Are you an alien?" Melvin's immature statement made everyone look at him dumbfounded. Everyone except Ryou, who still appeared to be frozen… did the last meeting with this man really scar him that much? He made it sound like it was no big deal…

Ishtar laughed. "No! I'm your father Melvin…"

Melvin's eyes hardened. "I thought I wasn't your son anymore," he said coldly.

Ishtar got quiet, then he said, "I'm sorry about that…"

Melvin just kept staring at his father, and then he said, "Okay, I need an explanation," he turned to Marik, "what the hell is going on?-!" he asked.

Ryou

Melvin's father just finished telling that after seeing how happy I'd made Melvin it made him rethink his life. He apologized to me many times about hurting me, and I said I forgave him for it. It really didn't hurt much, and it had no long-term effects on me. Currently, he was telling Melvin, "I'm sorry I kicked you out of the house… and possibly caused your…" he paused, unsure if he should say this next part, "… insanity."

Melvin waved the word away with his hand. "Don't sweat it, makes for a very interesting lifestyle," he smiled at me, realizing I was much quieter than usual, "right Ryou?"

I gave him a small smile, "Whatever makes you feel better Vinny."

He could tell I wasn't myself, that I was holding something back, but he wasn't sure how to ask about it, at least, he wasn't sure how in front of other people.

And I was holding something back, but you'll find out what that was later.

Mr. Ishtar looked at me, obviously sensing some hostility between me and him, but he wasn't sure how to address it either. What is it with you Ishtars and not knowing how to confront people? Are you all socially awkward? Even Bakura knows how to confront people. Well, most of the time anyways…

He looked at Marik, then Melvin, then Bakura, and finally his gaze ended and stayed on me. "Will you all forgive me for all I've done?" he asked, plain and simple, to the point.

Marik and Bakura exchanged glances before saying, "Yeah."

Melvin shrugged. "I suppose…"

When I didn't say anything everyone turned to look at me. I could feel their stares, their unasked questions. They were probably wondering why the "nice, forgiving" Ryou wasn't the first to say this man was forgiven.

I stared into the old man's eyes and said, "I'm sorry sir, but I don't forgive you."

I felt a little guilty when I saw how sad my statement made him, but not enough to forgive him. "Why?" he asked quietly.

Now I felt angry. I began to see red in my vision, almost like fire… funny, that's what Melvin says he sees when he goes off to psycho-land… "Why?" I asked harshly, "Why? Let's look over the basics shall we?" I said as tacked them off on my fingers, "You beat your children, you were drunk most days if not all, you threatened your children multiple times, you caused Melvin to go insane, you tried to kill one of your sons and when that didn't work you kicked him out of the house, and you carved into the other one's back! So I'm sorry, but that's too many offenses for me to just… just… forgive you like that!"

I could tell everyone was shocked they were hearing this from me. They probably expected me to forgive him for all he's done and praise him for trying to better himself. But I just can't… not for all he's done…

"Ryou," Melvin said, putting a hand on my shoulder, "are you okay?"

"No Melvin," I answered, looking at him, "No, I'm not. I admire that he's trying to change himself, and I'm glad you all forgive him, but I just can't!" I could feel angry tears threaten to glide down my cheeks, "This is the man that caused your insanity Melvin! Do you realize how much easier your life could have been if you weren't insane?"

"Ryou," Melvin said. I could tell he was a little lost, he's never seen me like this. "It's okay…"

"No it's not!" I screamed at him. Didn't he understand? He could have had such a better life! He wouldn't have ended up in jail… he wouldn't get so angry so quickly… his mind wouldn't be so messed up and twisted… didn't he understand?

Melvin stared at me for a minute before putting his face close to mine. "Wanna know the real reason I forgive him?" he asked me quietly.

I gave him a fierce stare, my anger not yet gone. "Yes."

Melvin smiled. "Because if I wasn't insane, I probably would've never met you."

… You know, it's really hard to stay mad when someone says something like that…

My face turns pink. "Th-that's ridiculous…" I said, looking away from him, "we still would've met…"

"No, we wouldn't have," Melvin insisted, "remember the first time we met? I had just gotten beat up by five people who had a grudge against me… you felt such pity for me that you went to help me without even asking any questions, you took care of me, tried to help me," he smiled kindly at me, "I thought you were a little angel sent to save me…

"After that you asked me what happened, and when I told you it was my fault you insisted that it wasn't, even after I told you all I'd done," he put his lips once inch away from mine. Damn it Melvin! I hate it when you do that!-! "Do you remember what you said to me?"

I huffed. " "Everyone makes mistakes, but you can fix mistakes. Sure, you can't change the past, but you can try to make a better future, a future where you won't make those mistakes anymore," " I quoted myself, "but that's different! You didn't try to kill your own son, you didn't try to carve into their back," I could feel tears threatening to fall again, "you didn't…"

"Ryou, I tried to kill a lot of people," Melvin told me. I closed my eyes – I always hated it when we talked about this… but I kind of brought it upon myself. "It pains me to admit, but I've done worse than my father… and yet you forgave me," he gave me an odd look then, "why do you forgive me Ryou?"

I looked down at the ground. I knew why I didn't forgive Melvin's father, and it looks like he knows why too… I just didn't want to admit it. "Because… I believed in you, I've seen how you changed –"

"You've seen how my father's changed as well," Melvin said, his next words confirming he did know why I was so mad at Mr. Ishtar, "you just don't want to forgive him for what he's done to me, right?"

I looked back up at him. "Can you blame me?" I asked.

Melvin smiled brightly, "No," he said, "but I just find that so adorable~!" He lifted me off the floor and trapped me in a tight hug. "Ryou-chan doesn't like anyone who hurts me~! That's so sweet!"

I laugh. Leave it to Melvin to make me happy. "Put me down!" I screamed happily.

"No!" he said, tightening his hold on me, "I'm never letting you down ever!"

I tried to get out of it, but Melvin was just so strong! "Melvin!" I complained, but I was laughing, so it didn't have much effect.

Just then, I heard Mr. Ishtar laughing.

That was when Melvin put me down, and I turned to look at him. He was… laughing, at us I presumed. "What's so funny?" I asked.

He smiled at me. "It's just… you were so mad, and Melvin made you so happy…" he shook his head slightly, "I can understand why you don't forgive me, and that's all right," he smiled, "just… can you promise me one thing?"

I raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Make Melvin happy, like you're already doing."

I blinked at him. He… he's asking me to make Melvin happy? … I guess he really has changed. "Well, that should be the easiest task in the world," I said.

He laughed, and at that moment… I didn't really feel mad anymore. Melvin's points made sense… I just didn't want to forgive him. But… someone like this, I suppose he deserves it. "Okay," I said, "I'll make him happy," I said as I smiled at Melvin, "and… I forgive you."

His face brightened at my words. "Thank you!"

I smiled, and all was silent between us. Then Bakura said, "I'd love to stay longer, but I think we should get going."

"Yeah," Marik agreed, "too much excitement for one day…"

Melvin smiled at his father. "I think me and dad should catch up more," he said.

"I should really continue planning for the wedding," I said.

Mr. Ishtar turned to me, "You're planning Marik's wedding?" he asked.

I blinked at him and immediately felt like hitting myself. That's right! He doesn't know me and Melvin are getting married!-!-! Wait a minute… he knows about Marik and Bakura's wedding? And he's perfectly fine with it? Dang, he did deserve to be forgiven… "Actually," I said, "I'm planning for… Melvin and mine's wedding."

His eyes widened. "You're getting married too?-!" he asked, looking at Melvin.

Melvin scrunched his eyebrows together. "Yeah, is that a problem?"

"No, it's just… Sorry son, but I don't really see you as the "marrying" type…"

Melvin narrowed his eyes. "What type do you see me as?"

Mr. Ishtar looked uncomfortable. "Well… honestly, the "loose" type…"

Melvin started laughing, and then trapped me in a headlock. "My little angel here wants to keep our relationship pure still!" he said as he ruffled my hair, "I think he just loves teasing me…"

My face went red. "I do not!" I said, "And let me go!"

Melvin let me go and then kissed me on the cheek. "My little snowflake is all I need for the rest of my life~!" Melvin proclaimed happily, causing me to flush again and turn away from him. Dang it! Why does Melvin love seeing me blush so much?-! I swear he makes me blush every opportunity he gets!

Suddenly I heard Melvin's dad laughing again, and that really surprised me. I guess this guy really was okay with his two sons being gay now… Either that or he's really good at acting and just trying to be supportive, but either way shows signs of a good father really. "You two look so… cute together," he said with a shake of his head, "sorry, but that still seems strange to me…"

"You're not the only one…" Bakura grumbled. Again, I forgot they were here… oh geez, Bakura's probably mad at Melvin now for trapping me in a headlock and kissing me on the cheek, why doesn't he like Melvin? He's perfectly fine! Sure he used to be insane, but he's gotten so much better!-! I guess I just don't understand how he can forgive Marik's father and not like Melvin…

"Well, like I said before," Bakura said, "we'll be off, see you around." He then started heading towards the door.

Marik smiled at us all and waved. "Bye! And dad, I'll be sure to call you when we actually decide when the wedding will be!"

Mr. Ishtar smiled. "Great! I'll see you around son."

Then the two new love-birds left. I love that term, "love-birds." It sounds so funny!

Just then I was pushed onto the couch and Melvin sat down next to me, putting his arm around my shoulders in the next second. "So dad," he said, "anything you want to know about us?"

"… Um…" Mr. Ishtar said, "Well, I'd like to hear about anything you'd like to tell me."

Melvin's eye twinkled, and I immediately feared the worst. What if he let slip about his sweets…? That would be bad…

"Well!" Melvin began, "The first thing you should know is that Ryou is the kindest, cutest, most wonderful person in the world and I love him to death!"

I blushed and looked down at the floor. "Melvin!" I complained. I swear, if he's just going to make me blush throughout this entire talk with his father… well, there will be no sweets for him tonight, I can tell you that.

Marik

Bakura seemed to be pouting since we left my dad's house, and I had no idea why. "Hey," I said, poking him in the ribs, "what's wrong?"

Bakura let out a breath. "You realize your father thinks I'm the girl in this relationship, right?" he asked me.

I blinked at him and laughed. "Is that why you told him I proposed?"

"Well…" 'Kura said, "I don't think he'd be very happy hearing his son might be the less dominant one in the relationship."

I elbowed him, "I thought we were equal!"

"If I told your father that I proposed, do you think he'd see it that way?"

"… I suppose not…"

"There you go."

We kept walking along, and then I asked, "So you're willing to let my father see you as the uke?"

Bakura blushed lightly (again, he looks so cute when he blushes!) and looked away from me. "Well… I'm still not entirely sure how your father feels about our relationship… so… yes."

I smiled brightly and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks 'Kura~!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever," he grumbled, then he smirked, "but you owe me."

I raised an eyebrow. "How can I repay you?"

Bakura's smirk turned bigger. "I get to plan the honeymoon by myself."

I stared at him, my face slowly turning red. "H-honeymoon…?" I asked weakly.

Bakura chuckled. "Don't tell me you forgot about the honeymoon Marik? It's traditional," he threw my own word back at me.

"… What do you have in mind?" I asked.

Bakura laughed deviously. "Now now, that would ruin the surprise! Don't you worry your pretty little head about it Marik!"

I kept staring at him, very afraid of what he was planning now… Obviously he saw how worried I was, as he patted me on the back and said, "Oh, be happy Marik. We confronted your dad today! And he's totally fine with us! We didn't even have to fight him. Although to be honest, I was looking forward to a good fight…"

I laughed. "Well, sorry to crush your hopes and dreams 'Kura."

Bakura stuck his tongue out at me, but then he smiled… shyly? "You are my hopes and dreams Marik…" he admitted, avoiding my eyes.

My cheeks grew hot. That… wow, Bakura doesn't usually say things like that… I hugged him tightly. "Well then, it looks like your hopes and dreams are going to be crushing you instead!"

Bakura laughed and hugged me back. That moment felt so… perfect. So warm and loving… nothing was going to tear us apart. Nothing.

Meeting my father today proved that.

Oh my gosh, it ended? It finally ended? Thank goodness! *dizzy* geez! This took me forever… do you like the plot twist of Marik's dad making a complete 180 turn around? :3 At first, I was planning this whole epic fight and confrontation scene, but then I thought of this and I was like, "OMgosh! This idea is awesome!" so I went with it XD

Tell me your favorite part please! I'm having trouble choosing mine… XDD Did you like the Deathshipping? I'm loving that pairing so much right now~! *hugs them* One other thing I really want to show you guys is Ryou and Melvin's date, 'cause I'm loving it~! XD I LOVE RYOU-CHAN~! XDD For some reason, I love how I made him in this... XDD

PLEASE REVIEW.

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Bakkyy: Glad you love it! =D Hope you liked this chapter as well! =) Thank you for reviewing ^^